To elope in Florida, both parties appear together at any Clerk of the Circuit Court office, present ID, pay the license fee, and then have an authorized officiant perform a ceremony within 60 days. Non-residents can do all of it the same day. There is no residency requirement, no blood test, and no waiting period for out-of-state couples.
Who Can Legally Marry
Both parties must be at least 18. A 17-year-old can marry only with notarized written consent from a parent or guardian, and only if the older party is no more than two years older.1Justia Law. Florida Code 741.04 – Issuance of Marriage License No one under 17 can marry.
Neither party can already be married. Marrying while you have a living spouse is bigamy, a third-degree felony.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 826.01 – Bigamy Punishment Florida also prohibits marriage between siblings, between aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, and between anyone in a direct line of descent.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.21 – Incestuous Marriages Prohibited
Beyond that, there is no citizenship requirement and no Florida residency requirement. You can fly in from another state or country and marry here without any prior connection to Florida.
A Note on Common-Law Marriage
If you were planning to skip the license and simply consider yourselves married, that will not work here. Florida has not recognized new common-law marriages since January 1, 1968.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.211 – Common-Law Marriages Void Cohabitation, shared finances, and a shared last name do not create a legal marriage. You need a license and a ceremony.
Getting the Marriage License
Both parties must appear together, in person, at any Clerk of the Circuit Court office in Florida. You do not have to apply in the county where you plan to hold the ceremony. A license issued in one Florida county is valid statewide.
Bring a valid government-issued photo ID: a driver’s license from any state, a U.S. passport, a state ID card, or a military ID all work. If either of you has been married before, know the exact date the prior marriage ended, whether by divorce, annulment, or a spouse’s death. You do not need to produce the decree or death certificate itself.
Each applicant must provide a Social Security number. The physical card usually isn’t required; the number is enough. Non-citizens without a Social Security number can give an alien registration number instead, and the clerk cannot refuse a license to a non-citizen who is unable to provide any of these numbers.1Justia Law. Florida Code 741.04 – Issuance of Marriage License
Fees
The marriage license fee is $86 in most Florida counties. That total is built from a base application fee plus a $25 surcharge for the state’s Domestic Violence Trust Fund and a $25 fee for the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.01 – County Court Judge or Clerk of the Circuit Court to Issue Marriage License Fee Couples who complete an approved premarital preparation course within the year before applying get a $25 reduction, bringing the total to $61.
The Three-Day Waiting Period
Florida residents face a three-day waiting period between applying and the license taking effect. Non-residents are automatically exempt. Florida residents can eliminate the wait by completing a premarital preparation course, and those with hardship can request a waiver from a county court judge.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.04 – Issuance of Marriage License This is what makes Florida so friendly to out-of-state elopements: you can apply and marry the same day.
License Expiration
A Florida marriage license is valid for 60 days after issuance. If you do not hold the ceremony within that window, the license expires and you would need to apply and pay again.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.041 – Marriage License Application Valid for 60 Days The expiration date is printed on the license itself.
The Ceremony
Your ceremony can happen anywhere in Florida: a beach, a park, a hotel room, a courthouse lobby. State law does not dictate the content of the ceremony or require specific vows. The only legal requirement is that someone authorized by law performs it.
Under Florida statute, the following can officiate a marriage:
- Ordained ministers, elders, or other ordained clergy of any church or denomination in good standing
- State judges, including retired judges, and federal judges with Florida jurisdiction
- Clerks of the circuit court and their appointed deputy clerks
- Any Florida notary public
Members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) can also marry according to their own rites without a separate officiant, and the marriage is fully valid.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.07 – Persons Authorized to Solemnize Matrimony For an elopement, the notary option is often the easiest and cheapest path, since Florida notaries are plentiful and can perform ceremonies alongside their notarial work.
Florida’s marriage statutes do not explicitly require witnesses at the ceremony, but many county marriage license forms include witness signature lines. If it will be just the two of you and the officiant, call the issuing clerk’s office ahead of time and confirm whether their form requires witness signatures. That one phone call avoids scrambling for a stranger at the last minute.
After the Ceremony
The officiant must sign the license, certifying the ceremony took place, and return it to the clerk’s office that issued it within 10 days.9Justia Law. Florida Code 741.08 – Marriage Not to Be Solemnized Without a License Returning the license is the officiant’s job, not yours, but it is worth following up to confirm they did it. If the license never gets returned and recorded, your marriage will not show up in the public record, and that creates real problems the first time you need to prove you are married.
Once recorded, the marriage becomes part of the official public record and you can order certified copies of the marriage certificate from the issuing clerk’s office. Fees vary by county but are generally under $10 per copy. Order several right away. You will need certified copies to change your name with the Social Security Administration, update your driver’s license, add a spouse to health insurance, change beneficiary designations, and handle the other paperwork that comes after a wedding. Having them in hand from day one is the single most useful thing you can do to make the post-elopement weeks easier.